


"I'm Sorry"

by orphan_account



Category: Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Implied Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-28
Updated: 2013-06-28
Packaged: 2017-12-16 11:50:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/861673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He was nothing more than a shell of what he once was, and the only shred of hope that he clung to was the fact that maybe, just <em>maybe</em>, he could still save his little sister."</p>
            </blockquote>





	"I'm Sorry"

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place before the Mistborn trilogy, when the Steel Ministry has captured Reen.

Reen huddled in the corner, wrapping his arms around his legs to try and stop them from shaking. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. Still he shivered. 

How long had it been? Days? Weeks? 

_"I'm sorry."_ He sobbed silently. His thoughts tripped over one another, stumbling to escape the endless pain. But there was no escape. 

_"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."_

All he had wanted to do was prepare her to survive and keep her hidden. But the Steel Ministry had found him. They found everyone, in the end. There was nowhere he could hide from them. They'd taken him, kicking and screaming, and thrown him in a cell. He was denied food, water and anything that might even mildly alleviate his situation. And they came for him everyday. The Inquisitors. 

He always fought back. He resisted their physical and psychological torture, and spat in their face when it was over. And so it went on - for how long he knew not - and each time they killed a little more of him. He was battered and bruised, both emotionally and physically, but he had no choice but to struggle on. He could not - _would not_ \- betray Vin. 

"Vin..." He rasped suddenly, speaking for the first time since his capture. "Vin..." 

The tears would not flow. He wanted nothing more than to sob and scream Vin's name, hurl abuses at his captors, display some form of aggression and passion. Except all his passion and aggression had been brutally beaten out of him. He was nothing more than a shell of what he once was, and the only shred of hope that he clung to was the fact that maybe, just _maybe_ , he could still save his little sister. 

"She's not the only sister you have." A voice whispered in his ear. 

_"I'm going mad."_ Reen thought, panicking. 

"You remember your other sister. Remember how you tried to protect her." 

Reen tucked his head between his knees, trying to block out the voice and the memories. Of course he remembered. How could he forget? How could anyone forget? Walking in to find his sister dead in his mother's arms. The memory was fuzzy, yet he remembered it as though it had just happened the previous day. He pushed it away frantically, not wanting to think about his mother's insane smile, his sister's limp figure, and Vin, young Vin, who was so confused and scared. 

Don't let anyone get too close, he'd told her, because they'll just find opportunities to betray you. 

He'd raised her to be cynical and to live in perpetual fear and paranoia. She was doomed, he knew, to a life of having to cow to people like Camon who didn't deserve her. He only hoped that neither she nor anyone ever found out the truth, because if they did, she would be hunted down and suffer a fate worse than his. 

Better to live in fear than not to live at all.

  


* * *

  


"She's dead!" I scream, over the pain. There is nothing but pain and those steel spikes. 

"Wrong." The spikes twist and my screams grow so loud that I can barely hear them. 

"She starved to death years ago!" Blood sprays from my mouth. "I swear! She's dead!" 

More pain. I'm so sorry, Vin. I wanted nothing more than to protect you; you're the only person I have left. I was hard on you, I yelled, I got angry. I care, Vin, I really do. 

_"I think he's telling the truth"_

Distorted voices. They don't matter. It doesn't hurt anymore, Vin. The pain's gone. You're safe. 

_"He's dying!"_

I want very much for you to be happy. I'm sorry I couldn't give you your happiness. 

_"Just finish it!"_

The spike twists. 

"I love you." Reen whispers so softly that he can barely be heard, and he sheds his last tear.


End file.
